Page 17 of Pursued By the Dragon Alien

Razion exhaled through his nose. That tracked with what Lilas had said and with Gribna’s records. “Where did the others end up?”

“Lilas, 057-L, was won by Gribna, as we know,” he began, his brow low as he looked through the data. “591-A was purchased by a brothel called Erovik.” His brows went up. “Never heard of it.”

“Me either,” Razion said.

“I have,” Vedd said with a wide grin. “Very luxurious, with prices to match. Owned and operated by the Axis. Incrediblecourtias, though.”

Razion raised his brows. “You’ve been there?”

“Once,” Vedd replied with a sigh. “It was…memorable.”

Krask cleared his throat. “One of the Terians went to the Slarik Arena. One went to the Delink mines, and the last one…her winning bidder and location are undisclosed. Can’t get information on that one.”

Razion pinched the bridge of his nose. The Slarik Arena and Delink mines were death sentences for Terian females if they were anything like Lilas. He’d have to think hard on whether to share this information with her. He doubted it would put her mind at ease regarding the females she was abducted with. Then again, she hadn’t talked about them. “And?”

Krask didn’t answer right away. He studied Razion, then said, “You don’t think it’s convenient?”

Razion frowned. “Clarify.”

Krask’s jaw tightened. “Five Terians—rare enough that there’s not a trace of them in any official account—suddenlyshow up at the same auction, and one of them ends uphere?Right after we start pressing deeper into Axis dealings?”

Razion’s irritation stirred. “You think she’s an Axis agent?”

Krask shrugged, but his gaze was sharp. “I think it’s a possibility.”

Razion let out a short, humorless laugh. “You really believe the Axis planted five undercover agents in a remote prison colony, kept them there long enough for them to forget who they were, then had them abducted just so one of them would end up on my ship?”

Krask didn’t flinch. “How do you know she’s forgotten who she was? She was eager enough to join our crew. Look, if the Axis were experimenting on those females—testing something—how better to cover their tracks than letting raiders do the dirty work?”

Razion wasn’t buying it. He’d seen undercover operatives before—trained, disciplined, subtle. That didn’t describe Lilas in any way. “She’s not an agent,” he said firmly.

Krask narrowed his eyes. “You sound sure.”

“I am.” Razion straightened. “I’ve seen how she reacts—how her mind works. She’s too quick to anger, too skeptical, too raw. She’s not following orders from anyone but herself.” He exhaled, pushing off the console. “I trust my instincts on this, Krask. You should too.”

Krask didn’t argue, but his doubt lingered in the way his arms stayed crossed, the way his jaw remained tight.

Vedd, who had been quietly monitoring the conversation, spoke up. “Look, I’m not saying Krask is right,” he said, fingers still working over his console, “but if you want to be sure, I can run a bioscan on Lilas. If the Axis did something to her—implants, genetic tampering, tracking devices—we’ll know.”

Razion didn’t answer right away. His gut told him Lilas was exactly who she claimed to be—a survivor of an Axis prisonshe hadn’t even known was a prison. But gut instincts weren’t enough for his closest crewmates, so he’d go where the data took him.

“Fine,” he said. “Run the scan.”

Vedd gave a lazy salute, pushing up from his seat. “I’ll let you know if she’s got any hidden surprises.”

He strolled out of the room, leaving Razion alone with Krask. The first mate didn’t say anything at first, just stood there with his arms crossed, watching Razion like he was waiting for something.

Razion sighed. “Go ahead. Get it out.”

Krask arched a brow. “You’re compromised.”

“Because I don’t think Lilas is some Axis plant?” Razion let out a sharp laugh. “Try harder.”

“We’ve been crewmates for a long time,” he said. “I know you. So it’s concerning that your first instinct was to defend her instead of to consider the risk.” He stepped forward, his gaze unwavering. “It’s not just you being too trusting. It’s you not thinking clearly when it comes to her.”

Razion’s jaw tightened. “I think just fine.”

Krask tilted his head. “You sure? Because from where I’m standing, you’re dazzled. Maybe it’s the eyes…I don’t know. But she’s only been here a cycle and she’s under your skin.”

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